THIS could be the image that will resolve a police inquiry that has been running for three months.

It is a new forensic drawing of a woman whose body was found in a Dales stream on September 20 this year.

She was found by walkers on the popular Pennine Way near Penyghent and so far has not been identified.

The walkers had stopped near Sell Gill Pot, where a mountain stream tumbles into a pothole, when they saw the body.

Early inquiries suggested it may have come to rest near the pothole entrance after being washed downstream.

A post-mortem examination indicated that she had been dead at least a week, but no longer than three weeks. This puts her death between August 31 and September 13. The cause of her death is not yet clear.

A team of detectives and specialist advisers is working to establish who she is, how she met her death - and to break the news to any family she may have.

The new image has been prepared by an expert from the National Missing Persons Helpline and clearly shows the distinctive features that may strike a chord with someone who knows the woman.

She has excellent teeth with no fillings - but a gap at the front that would have been obvious when she smiled.

The woman was of Oriental ethnicity. Experts believe she was from an area of Asia that includes China, Korea and the Philippines, and detectives are working with the embassies of these and other countries.

Detective Inspector Pete Martin said: "We have to cast our net over a huge area.

"She may be British born and bred - but from anywhere in Britain - or she may be a foreign national visiting this country. Whatever the circumstances of her being in the UK what is important is that someone must know her and be able to help us identify her."

The dead woman was between 20 and 40, 4ft 11ins tall and weighed about 10 stone. Her hair was dark brown and shoulder-length.

She was wearing green Marks and Spencer jeans, size 12, light-coloured socks, a white bra and black pants, size 10-12. A turquoise and white horizontally striped T-shirt, size 10-12, was found nearby.

She wore a gold ring on the third finger of her left hand. The ring is 22 carat or above which, together with marks inside the ring, suggests that it originated in the Far or Middle East. The general appearance indicates the ring is well worn and very old.

Both ears were pierced, but she wore no earrings. There was no sign of any footwear, jacket or baggage.

Police say that from evidence of toothbrush use she was probably right-handed.

There is an indication that when she was young her growth was arrested because of a childhood disease such as measles.

DI Martin said: "Someone must know who this woman is, and I believe there may well be someone who knows she is missing.

"We owe it to her to find her name and to notify her family."

Anyone who can help should call the Witness Line on 01423 539334 or 0845 60 60 24 7.